Wrong Way Driver hits 2 Motorcycles, Killing a Rider on FM 490

Just after noon on Tuesday, a westbound SUV on FM 490 suddenly swerved into oncoming eastbound traffic. The Cadillac Escalade crashed into two eastbound motorcycles, killing one driver and injuring the other, as well as injuring a passenger on one of the bikes. No charges were immediately filed. But our FM 490 motorcycle accident attorneys note that the accident was still being investigated. (Action 4 News, www.valleycentral.com, 1/14/14)

Our condolences go out to the family and friends of the man killed on his motorcycle, and our wishes for complete recoveries go out to the injured victims of the wreck. Wrong-way crashes are, hands down, some of the most deadly accidents there are. They usually happen head-on at high speeds without either driver having had a chance to slow down beforehand.

Concerned traffic safety officials have tried all sorts of things to try and deter wrong-way driving and cut down on the number of drivers who enter roads, especially highways, going the wrong way.

Here are some of the new approaches they have tried:

• Making a doubled number of “Wrong Way” and “Do not Enter” signs and larger-dimension signs the standard safety requirement.
• Installing illuminated “Wrong Way” signs that flash when a wrong-way vehicle is detected.
• Posting controlled-access highway entrance signs on each side of entrance ramps. And applying red retro-reflective tape to the vertical posts of exit ramp signs.
• Installing trailblazing lines or reflective markers that channel travel in an arc to guide motorists making left turns from the crossroad into an entrance ramp in order to prevent them from entering the exit ramp in error.

But their efforts have not yielded much improvement. Statistics show that around 60% of the wrong-way drivers involved in fatal accidents were drunk at the time of the crash. Drunken drivers are impaired, usually with limited focus and vision, and additional signs and wrong-way markers go unnoticed.

Among wrong-way drivers who are not impaired by drugs or alcohol, a large portion are unfamiliar with the route and disoriented. When they’re looking around for familiar landmarks to guide them, smaller “wrong way” and “do not enter” signs also might go unnoticed.

But in cases like the wreck on FM 490 where the SUV suddenly veered across the road into the path of the oncoming motorcycles, driver distraction might be to blame. Just taking your eyes off the road for a second to send or read a text can send you out of your lane and into oncoming traffic or a ditch. The FM 490 motorcycle accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC mention that this has happened in several prior fatal wrecks attributed to texting distraction and is one of the reasons campaigns against texting and driving are growing more frequent.

Click the link to learn more about the devastation caused by texting and wrong way driving.